Hercules tires

[RogerR]

I bought mine mounted on new rims and sold the old ones on Craigslist to a guy who was happy to get them. Less over all than getting local and having mounted and pay for disposal or 2 year old tires.

[Pop#1]

Originally Posted by Jay2504

Pop#1, why not save all the “old” tires that you replace for the Alaska trip and carry them as spares. You could possibly get a couple of cheap steel rims from Craigslist in your size and bolt pattern to pre mount them. If you have no tire trouble during the trip, then just sell them on Craigslist when you get home. You already own the tires and you would save on any “tire disposal fee”. Jay

Good thinking! I will do that!

[Midnightmoon]

Originally Posted by Jay2504

Pop#1, why not save all the “old” tires that you replace for the Alaska trip and carry them as spares. You could possibly get a couple of cheap steel rims from Craigslist in your size and bolt pattern to pre mount them. If you have no tire trouble during the trip, then just sell them on Craigslist when you get home. You already own the tires and you would save on any “tire disposal fee”. Jay

This is a really good idea. A friend of mine did the ALCAN Highway a number of years ago and ended up with 2 flats within a short period of time. I know for sure that he had 2 spares with him and used both on the same day. I believe that he carried one on the trailer and one in the bed of his truck. He has a toy hauler now and just has second one sitting in the garage area.

[Evman]

My thinking is if a tire is not good enough for me it is not good enough for others and never sell a tire and here a disposal is charged even if you keep the tires. I have bought new tires on our fifth every five years and because it is a 2001 model the tires were another five years old when we sold it to sit forever on a mountain above Wenatchee Wa that has Mt Rainier showing on a good day. Never had any wear that was not normal and 2 sets at the 5 year time had no wear. Not to my eye but to the gauge had had to prove it. chevman

[fsimms]

If your Hercules tires are not outdated they should be good. I put a set of 4 Hercules G-rated tires on our previous 35' fifth wheel and they were super tires for the money. Our new Pinnacle came with Endurance tires and so far so good. Not all Chinese tires are bombs. Check the tires on your vehicles and you may be surprised to see that some Michelin and Goodyear tires are actually made in China.

[Florida Ranger]

Hercules tires are fine, I ran them on my Dump Trucks for years and had no quality problems with them.

[RamJam]

We have Hercules tires on our 5th wheel (39'), 14 ply and have made 2 trips for far from western Canada to Yuma and I'm impressed with them. Seem to wear very well and if you look around when you drive, you'll see them on all sorts of trailers and semis. A bugger to install because of the stiff sidewall. The tire dealer had his commercial guy install them and took him about a hour.

[papa10]

Put on a new set off Hercules tires and made 12,000 mile trip to Yukon and Alaska. Nary a problem.

[Evman]

Papa10 this is how I buy new tires for all vehicle's we have owned. I ask the tire dealer if they can get us a USA tire and tell how close the date of manufacturer will be from when I ask him. Has always been ok with who ever tire store I ask and if the tire size we want is not made in the USA I get to choose from another country but never China. I also start this around May or June so plenty of time before we need tires. I do this because I am in control and on the road it is a what we have only and the date might be older and older and an RV is not a good combination. My opinion but has worked perfect for us. Rving since 1996. chevman

[Rodek]

My Brother in Law runs Hercules Terra Trac II tires on his 8500 LB work truck. This is his second set and he has never had an issue with them. These tires deal with Alabama hot roads and are great in the tropical rains we get during tropical storms or the occasional hurricane. Construction sites, dirt roads and gravel no problem either.

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by Pop#1

They were new 2 years ago. Have not checked the date on them but they should be fairly current.

Age is only part of the equation.


What inflation do you run?
Is the tire load capacity at that inflation at least 115% of the MEASURED heaviest load on your tires? NOT the average load but the heaviest on any one tire. The LF doesn't care how much load is on the RR tire. Load is not transferred between your tires.

[Evman]

We have only towed the 2021 Jayco 122 miles from dealer. On our G rated tires on the alpenlite and it was 14380 lbs loaded and tires were rated at 15000lb together and the hitch weight was 3500 lbs we had plenty of tires. So the pressure did not need to be the 110 air pressure. Usually did 105 just because I guess. Tire monitors show the amount of increase as road and temps change. Interesting at times and only were the same pressure with no sun and cooler temps. Does that mean the load was even to be the same?? Who knows for sure. 80 years old a never had a tire issue rving and only one flat from a nail on my work truck. Merry Christmas guys and be safe.. chevman

[fillwa]

I ran the factory tires on my ‘15 Jayco without any problems. As they were 5yrs old I replaced them with Hercules tires and very happy with them. Ride much better than the factory tires. Why Hercules? I was going to get the GY Endurance after hearing about them on RV forums. Then I heard about Hercules from people that use them on box trailers for equipment, eg these trailers have very similar profile and weight as my TT. Saved $$ by going with Hercules and very happy with how they ride.

[LittleBill]

In 2011 we bought out 2006 26BHS. In 2013 we replaced the tires with Maxxis. When I brought the TT home this summer, I found that the tire sidewalls where like a roller coaster (bumpy) and rims were all rusted. I replaced them with Carlisle Radial Trail HD tires on new rims.

Found that the original spare tire was like brand-new (never had a flat), but the date code was sometime in 2005. So have 5 new tires. Also had bearings serviced and found brakes needed replacing.

Should be good for another 100,000 miles .

[gymracer]

I've ran different types trailers for 30 + years. Ran lots of brands. Only a couple proved to be junk. If I can get 5 years out of a set, they get replaced. I do several miles a year and travel at 70 mph. Keeping correct air pressure is big help in tire life. I currently have Hercules on one trailer and Carlisle in the other. The Goodyear's that came on my new trailer didn't last long, but sure they were not their best tire.

[beachcommander]

I did the research and bought a set of Hercules, ran them many miles and 4 years great tires. Second set i had a bad one within the first few miles, but have been steady since. They are probly the best of the china tires. This was on a 40 fwheel. check the date on them if they are not over 3 or 4 years old run them a while.... Otherwise go for the Goodyears.

[dynarider]

Had them on a 40' fifth wheel toy hauler great tires

[8ballldl]

Originally Posted by Pop#1

I know that tires have been discussed ad nauseum and that Goodyear Endurance tires are the gold standard.
I recently bought a second hand 28 ft trailer with 4 nearly new Hercules tires. Before I swap them out for Goodyears, has anyone got experience with these tires, a subset of Cooper tires but made in China. Would I be safe in trying to get a couple of years of mostly highway travel out of them? Or should I override my Scottish ancestry and upgrade?

We have a 31 foot Jayco Greyhawk that our dealer put Goodyear tires on that claimed to be able to handle the load but just barely and that we blew out three of six sidewalls on over the next year and a half - that particular tire couldn't handle the weight and Goodyear said they didn't have one that would fit and that could. We ended up with Hercules all steel belt tires and have had zero problems since. This included a step up from "E" rated to "F" rated. They ride a little stiff but we now can trust our tires again and we don't mind - the peace of mind is a great comfort.

[Chamdaddy]

Originally Posted by Pop#1

I know that tires have been discussed ad nauseum and that Goodyear Endurance tires are the gold standard.
I recently bought a second hand 28 ft trailer with 4 nearly new Hercules tires. Before I swap them out for Goodyears, has anyone got experience with these tires, a subset of Cooper tires but made in China. Would I be safe in trying to get a couple of years of mostly highway travel out of them? Or should I override my Scottish ancestry and upgrade?

Regardless of whether you choose to give your current tires a chance or you get new tires, I would make sure you have a reliable TPMS system. It will likely give you some advance notice before it loses its ****. I have been lucky with my previous travel trailers and have never lost a tire even though I ran them many years beyond their expected life(ignorance on my part). However I did blow a tire on my 14,000# flat bed and never knew it until a really pissed-off deputy pulled me over and said I rained rubber shrapnel down on his windshield. No telling how long I would have driven before I realized it. That trailer was solid steel so it did no damage, but your underside of your travel trailer can get shredded by a blowout. My buddy just had a couple thousand dollars of damage to his TT when his tire gave out and spent a week camping with no power to his kitchen and slide. A really good TPMS can be as cheap as $300(TST 507), some are only $70, better than nothing. I feel much more at peace diving down the road knowing the pressure and temp of each tire in real time. It's all at your discretion. Good luck and Happy Camping.

[Pop#1]

That's good advice and in fact ordered online a cheap one to test out.
Pete